West Ham a tougher challenge for Everton than going to the Emirates says Sørensen | OneFootball

Everton manager Brian Sørensen says that trying to defeat West Ham United will be tougher than last weekend’s challenge of facing Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

The Blue Girls play host to The Hammers at Walton Hall Park on Sunday afternoon in their latest Barclays Women’s Super League fixture.

Everton recorded an excellent goalless draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last weekend. Many would see a home game against West Ham United as an easier assignment but Sørensen has a different take on the upcoming contest.

“They’re tough to play against,” Sørensen said when speaking about West Ham United in the pre-match press conference. “They deserved better in the United game, I thought they were the better team in the second half.

“They have quality upfront, they can hurt you in every given moment, they are direct at times, they are unpredictable, they’re just tough [opponents].

“It sounds ridiculous but it’s almost tougher than going to the Emirates. Beating West Ham at home and controlling it is going to be a tougher job than getting a result at the Emirates because of the unpredictability in their game and the players that they have.

“They maybe have the same problem [as us], they don’t score as much as they create but I think they’re a tough team for sure.”

Everton go into the game having won all of their last three league matches against The Hammers. They have also kept three consecutive clean sheets against the East Londoners. Despite Everton’s good record, Sørensen believes that West Ham United have been unlucky and says that anything can happen on the day.

He said “Looking back on those performances, we took our chances. I felt that last season, West Ham were hard done by, especially in the away game where we were probably the luckier side when you look at the chances that they created. We scored on a set-piece.

“At home, it was an even game until around the 70-minute mark then Martina [Piemonte] got a goal and Yaya [Aurora Galli] made the most of a chance and scored a worldie from outside of the box.

“We got the wins but I still feel that the games could have gone either way because they are hard to play against.

“I like to prepare the team but West Ham are hard to prepare against because they are super-dynamic, they play different systems from time-to-time and press different ways. We just need to be ready for whatever they throw at us and see how we can expose them.”

Everton’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against West Ham United kicks-off at 2pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.